Trump follows Intel stock by targeting stakes in Micron, TSMC and Samsung - Reuters
The U.S. Commerce Department is pushing the idea of giving government subsidies to chipmakers in exchange for their stock, and Trump likes the idea, sources tell Reuters
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is exploring the possibility of the U.S. government taking equity stakes in major chip makers in exchange for grants from the White House to build factories, Reuters sources say. According to them, Lutnick is actively promoting the idea of equity participation, and U.S. President Donald Trump likes it.
Details
Developing its idea of acquiring Intel shares in exchange for funding under the Chips and Science Act (CHIPS and Science Act), the Trump administration is studying how to get stakes in Micron, TSMC and Samsung in the same way, a White House official and another source told Reuters. The law provides for $52.7 billion in state subsidies to support semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. A significant portion of these funds has not yet been distributed, the agency notes.
U.S. Treasury Department head Scott Bessent is involved in discussions about the Chip Act, but U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick plays a key role in the process, according to Reuters interlocutors. According to them, Lutnick is actively pushing the idea of cost-sharing, and Trump likes the idea.
In late 2024, when Trump had not yet assumed the presidency, the U.S. Commerce Department approved $4.75 billion in grants to Samsung, $6.2 billion to Micron and $6.6 billion to TSMC to set up chip manufacturing in the country. In June 2025, Lutnick said his department was reviewing some grants given to chipmakers under previous President Joe Biden, calling them "overly generous."
What about the stock
Wall Street reacted negatively to news earlier this week that the U.S. government wants to acquire about 10% in Intel's share capital by converting grants to stock and thus become the company's largest shareholder. Leaks last week about the Trump administration's plans led to the strongest weekly rise in Intel stock since February. But on August 18, after Bloomberg published about the potential size of the U.S. stake, Intel's quotes collapsed by 3.7%.
In August, shares of Intel, which is in a prolonged crisis, rose by 28%, and the company's capitalization jumped by $24 billion on the news of the White House initiatives and investments from SoftBank. As a result of the jump, Intel shares are trading at a projected P/E of 53, the highest valuation since early 2002, Bloomberg calculates.
Shares of Micron rose 6.7% in New York over the past month, Samsung - 5.1% in Seoul. TSMC's American depositary receipts slipped 3.2%. According to FactSet data cited by The Wall Street Journal, analysts on average recommend buying the securities of all three companies - with consensus ratings of Buy or Overweight.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
